Ring a Bell
by Zuzannathewinx
Summary: On a quest to lock the power of the Black Ruby, the Winx are to scour the magic dimension searching for keys. Not long before the mission, Musa goes missing and her friends panic. When they do find her, Musa discovers that non-dark magic has disabled her hearing, and they travel to Melody to seek guidance from her princess.
1. Prologue

**Note: I might add a little bit before this so that the story makes more sense but for now I'll give you this little preview...**

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"The ringing, make it stop, make it stop!" It was growing louder by the minute. Musa covered her ears and kneeled onto the ground "I'll do anything, I beg you, please!" Her long dark hair masked her face. If this is what it meant to fight fire with fire, maybe that's exactly what she's getting. Musa looked up. "Just tell me what's going on. I… I swear, I did nothing wrong!" From the darkness appeared an entity. A hooded figure. "What do you want, huh!?" she barked at it.

"Oh, my poor, _sweet_ Musa… nothing from you," The hooded figure grinned, and faded herself into the darkness again. "It's the _who_ of that I need."

Musa hung her head. Something bad was going to happen, and she's sure of it. She thought for a moment, or tried to, at least. The figure took out a dark hand, and with a morphix spell, concealed Musa's hands and feet in binds. Musa shut her eyes tight and the entity laughed, starting to walk away. Musa gasped. _That voice! It's too familiar…_ "Hey, I know who you are!" She screamed, "And I don't know what's gotten into you, but I sure don't like it!" Tears formed in her eyes, and she turned her head back, away from the entity.

The hooded figure jerked back at her, casting stronger sound waves upon Musa, then left. "Agh! I can't hear a thing!" She sighed. Opening her eyes, she realized the ringing was gone, but she could still feel its' vibrations. Though her hands and feet and mouth were bound, Musa tried to stay calm. She lay her head down in her cell and slept on the cold stone.


	2. The most important meal of the day

Bloom gazed gently out her wide window, draped with fine blue curtains. You would call them anything but new, as it was plainly glazed with tattered ends and water stains that could repel anyone that dared to look close enough, but Bloom still cherished them with love and respect. She had gotten them exactly two years ago – as a gift, a sign of friendship. Now, as she felt the warm rays of the morning sun, the same thing that helped her through all of her life as a fairy was there as well.

"Bloom!" Stella called, "Bloom, why are you awake so early?" She asked, stretching and yawning. "It's the first day of winter, there's no class today."  
Bloom didn't answer. A sharp feeling came to her, a feeling as if she could feel something was wrong, but she couldn't quite place it. She began to speak, but found something had caught her tongue, and instead kept quiet.  
By now, Stella had left to get breakfast with the rest of the Winx, so Bloom decided it would be best to join them. _After all,_ she thought, _who doesn't like a good breakfast?_

As she came down through the many halls and stairs of Alfea, she couldn't help but imagine what it would have been like to be freshmen again. Entering the Cafeteria of Alfea, she slowed her pace, and quickly scanned for her friends. "Hey, Bloom!" Tecna motioned for her to join them. Stella, Tecna, Flora and Aisha all sat at the table and enjoyed their breakfast. "Where's Musa?" Bloom asked.  
Stella looked down, and Aisha looked away, but Tecna looked her straight in the eye. "I haven't seen her," she said, "She didn't come back before I went to bed last night, and she wasn't here when I woke up, either. When she left yesterday, she didn't tell me where she was going…"

"Oh." Bloom sat down, slightly disappointed. Why would she have left without telling anyone? _There has to be a reasonable explanation for this,_ Bloom assured herself. Tecna looked down at her wrist at what looked like a _wrist-phone,_ or perhaps one of her other gadgets. A screen popped up of Ms. Faragonda.  
"Hello girls," She said, softly, but seriously. Stella knew that whenever she sounded this serious, it meant something bad happened. "I'd like to see you all in my office after breakfast, immediately and as soon as possible." The screen closed.

The five girls exchanged glances, and quickly finished their food.

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**NOTE: Each chapter will be very short, but they'll be added frequently and there will be a LOT of them so don't worry! Follow this story so you can know when the next part is coming :)**


	3. Mission of the Black Ruby

"What is it?" Asked Stella, with that tone in her voice that made it impossible _not_ to see that she was being impatient, "What happened?"

Ms. Faragonda looked down. "It's the Black Ruby. A power that was once used to bring chaos to the magic dimension. An unknown force – a dark one, at that, is trying to unlock it."  
"Unlock it? What do you-" Bloom started, but Stella interrupted, leaning on the desk.  
"So what does this have to do with Musa?"

Tecna shot Stella a dirty look, perhaps of annoyance, and picked up a small electronic device. "My auto-synthetic data calculator is indicating that she isn't anywhere in the dimension," she said.

The head mistress conducted an image of the Black Ruby, which had four keyholes in the top, each one distinctly shaped. "Here is the Black Ruby. Its' powers enables these forces to not only take over another magical being, but also use their opponent's powers against them." Faragonda glanced to the side and narrowed her eyes.  
"Sounds dangerous," added Flora, "But what do you want us to do?"

"I need you to find the keys, and lock the Black Ruby… before it gets in the wrong hands. It's the only way."  
"But they could be anywhere in the magic dimension!"  
"Trust me," Faragonda whispered, "You will know how to find them, and you just don't know that you do."

The five girls walked out and into the hallway. "Well, it looks like we've got a few missions that need to be taken care of…" Bloom's voice trailed off, and Tecna buried her hands in her face. "Then we should get going," Stella said, "We just need to figure out… where."

"I'll stay." Aisha added quickly. Flora looked at her, slightly worried, and decided to stay out as well. "Me too. It would be better if… if you three went alone." She smiled softly and waved to them as they began to leave.

Stella called the specialists, and they arrived shortly. "Come on," Sky motioned for them to get in the ship.  
Tecna stared out the window as the ship took flight. Her face wore the expression of hope and adventure, but deep in her eyes, there was fear.

"Where do we start?" Bloom asked her boyfriend, Sky. She hadn't seen Sky in a while, because of his new duties as King of Eraklion, so she was surprised when he was the first one to step out of the Red Fountain ship. It was seeing him again – his brilliant blue eyes that matched the sky, his perfect blonde hair that, no matter how messy it got, was still handsome as ever, and his personality. _His personality, _thought Bloom, _Is most definitely the most important feature in a guy._ She smiled.

"Where do you think we should go? Think about it," Sky told bloom, as he spun his chair back and around.  
Bloom thought for a moment. "How about… the Red Quartz Cliff Caves?" She spat out, to her surprise. Where had that come from? She didn't know, but she knew that it had existed, and whatever made her say it was telling her that it was the right place.  
"Alright then, that's where we'll start." Sky smiled, and he turned the Red Fountain Ship to head in that direction.


	4. To the cliffs!

Tecna broke out of her thoughtful position and started paying attention to the path they'd ended up in.  
"Are you sure we're in the right place?" She asked, and though her voice was steady, her face showed no mercy; Eyes wide, and eyebrows tensed.  
Sky hesitated to land when she'd asked, but he kept at it. "Yes, this is where Bloom said we were to go…"

Before them were the Red Quartz Cliff Caves – to call it by any other name would make it seem unremarkable. Long, twisting, stalagmites bordered the entrance, and the rocks which made up the edges, long and thin, though they were not dazzling, they'd still make all of the normal rocks dull, duller than usual.  
Pure, red crystal lined the cave walls. This was such a landmark that, if not so far away from the rest of Magix, would probably become a tourist site in mere seconds.

Bloom was the first off the ship, followed by Stella, Tecna, and then Sky. "I have a feeling that we're very close!" She exclaimed, "Don't you remember when we first met Aisha, and we were down in the caves, just like this?"

Stella sighed. "Yes, it was quite the adventure… but I don't exactly look forward to experiencing it _again._" Her stomach lurched at the thought of encountering those _disgusting_ shadow monsters once more.

"Luckily," said Tecna, "We won't have to. The atmosphere of these caves is chillingly different than the ones you've been in before. As long as we don't run into any trouble, we should be fine." Stella began walking into the caves. "Good. We should… probably start moving, we can't waste a single second!"

Bloom nodded, and the four of them began making their way.

"If only Brandon were here, I'd know we'd be safe!" Stella fantasized about her boyfriend.  
_It's always about the boys with them,_ Tecna thought to herself. She couldn't help but think of the subject of her own friend – or, guy friend, and perhaps she'd even say her _boyfriend_, Timmy.

But he was at Red Fountain, working with the rest of the specialists. Apparently they were working on a secret project – but since it was a _secret,_ they hadn't said a word to the fairies of Alfea.

A sharp shriek filled the room, echoing throughout the caverns and ringing through the rafters.  
The girls looked at each other. "Did you hear that?" Tecna asked, but with urgency. It felt like a call, from a magical being; from fairy to fairy. Bloom began to take them down another pathway. "Yes – we should follow it, and find out!"

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Stella said, and they all ran. It continued to get louder, but suddenly, the noise ceased. "Where did it go?"  
Bloom and Stella shrugged, and they heard something else – a physical noise behind them. The three of them turned to see something Bloom would have never thought they would see… But she was glad they did.


	5. Chapter Four

There she was.

Resting peacefully on the floor, tied without a care in the pink ropes that were once helpful to her, was their beautiful friend, Musa. Although her skin was paler than the thin white sands of Solaria and her hair was knotted and tangled, her breath was finer and smoother than the black, exciting silence one might hear right before an orchestra was to begin playing.

"I can't believe it…" Bloom whispered, walking up to the bars and melting it down with her touch.  
"Musa?" Tecna went forward and held Musa's head in her hand.  
Stella came closer. "Is she…?"  
"No." Tecna said, coldly. "Thankfully, she's still breathing. We need to get her out of here, quickly." She grabbed her friend and pulled her close to her chest, with a friendly embrace; a hug that would have meant everything in the world to Musa, had she been awake.

"What about the keys?" Bloom scrambled to find her pacing. "Shouldn't we look for them?"  
"Later. Now is not the time. Something took us here for a reason, Bloom. We have to restore our Winx… otherwise, it wouldn't me much of a 'fun adventure', would it?" Tecna picked up Musa and carried her to the ship, with a little help of her magic.

* * *

The first thing Musa heard when she woke up was silence. _Where am I? Why is it so quiet?_ Slowly opening her eyes, she gazed at the ceiling which phased in and out of focus. Squinting, she then sat up and looked up to see a window, light streaming down from its' panes. _Alfea. Good then, that means I'm safe…_  
"I see you're up," Said the Nurse, although Musa did not hear her, and left the room.

Musa had never heard this much silence in her life. She knew it wasn't just her morning grogginess, because Alfea was never _this _quiet anyways. _Sound a C,_ she thought to herself. "Hmmm,"  
Hearing nothing, Musa held a hand up to her throat. "It's not your voice…" She mumbled, not realizing she had said it out loud. She took her hand and snapped her fingers. Couldn't hear them, either. As soon as she realized what'd happened, Musa knew that everything wasn't fine. _No… No! It can't be… _tears beginning to form in her eyes, Musa held her head in her hands.

"Morning! Did somebody call for…" Flora opened the door with a teacup in her hand and dropped it on the floor as soon as she saw the look on Musa's face. "Oh, what's happened?"

Bloom walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She immediately shot up and turned to see Bloom. "Hey! Uh, Bloom. Sorry, you startled me…" Musa looked down.  
Flora and Bloom looked at each other, then back to Musa. "It's alright." Bloom looked Musa in the eye. "What's wrong?" She asked, noticing the tears streaming down her face. At least now, Musa was able to read Bloom's lips – closely enough to know what she was trying to say.

"My hearing… it's gone… all of it." Musa looked away. "I can't hear you, I can't hear myself… Oh Bloom, I can't hear a single thing! I'm the fairy of music, and my magic won't work in complete silence,"  
Bloom was speechless. She didn't have to say anything. Musa fell into her arms and cried over her shoulder. Bloom looked to Flora and said, "It'll be okay… somehow, we'll find a way to make it happen, and I don't know how we will. But I know that we can do this. Together." She gave a quick smile to Flora, who smiled back. "I just know it."

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**NOTE: Is it strange that I wrote this chapter in the style similar to as if it were a romance? I was trying to make it touching, but idk. Feels like a romance novel. Here's a bit of newsflash for ya: It's not X3**


	6. Chapter 5

From the very depths of its oceans to the peaks of the mountains which poked just above the clouds, Melody was a beautiful place. There was music everywhere you went, and Sakuras exclusive to the planet lined the streets, bright pink petals, like the Japan of Earth.

Tecna knew that seeing it in person would be a delight, especially for Musa. With care, she scanned a globe map of it in her hands. She smiled, because she knew just what she had to do to bring life back to Musa's heart, and possibly a chance to get closer to finding their first key. She stopped and thought about the times when her life held very little emotion. No happiness, no sadness, all magic and technology, every day. But things changed in her life when she had met the Winx, at that first year in Alfea.

I had even come to find lo… Oh, snap out of it, Tecna. You don't know what you're talking about.

She sighed, and placed the globe map down on the table. "How about we go… there."

Tecna pointed at Melody. A fine place, indeed.

"Melody?" Bloom stared at the graphical display with question. "Hm… well, I guess it might be a good idea… But I know where we need to go first." She grinned, and then went straight to ask permission to leave the school.

Moments later, the Winx had been to their way on Red Fountain.

"Brandon!" Stella exclaimed, the second she saw him, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend happily. The Winx loved seeing the specialists, no matter what they had been through.

Well, everyone except Musa.

As much as she wanted to throw herself into Riven's arms, she couldn't. She just couldn't. Her and Riven… well, had some tough balances over the past few years.

Bloom doesn't even know how they keep falling in love, when they go through so many problems, but she also doesn't deny to notice how alike they are, trapped in a stubborn world of their own desires, their own conflicts.

Bloom watched Musa from over, and she was talking to Flora. "I hope she'll be alright…" Bloom looked at her friend and sighed.

She couldn't imagine losing an important part of her, something that made her herself.

Musa looked up at the specialists and smiled. Riven… if only you could always be there for me.

Then maybe we could be something more.

Her smile faded as quickly as it came, because the look on his face meant that he knew something was wrong. Musa turned to walk away, hoping he wouldn't have to say anything, and even if he did, she wouldn't have to hear it. She stuck her hands in her pockets and went over to Bloom, Aisha and Flora.

"Where's Helia?" She asked Flora, giving a slight smirk. The two were mostly inseparable, at least, when the specialists were around. Bloom gave Flora a glance of relief, as Musa's mood had definitely improved since when they had come in to see her.

"I don't know, he was-"

Musa looked at Flora with her eyebrows raised and sighed, in which to response, she just shrugged.

"So, are you coming with us this time?" Stella looked into Brandon's eyes and fluttered her own. If there was one thing she was good at, other than obsessing over fashion and being a total drama queen, then it would be her ability to persuade. This particular type of persuasion was quite easy, although it was fun, and at least the other got something out of it. "We might need some… reinforcements?"

"I don't know, I'll see if we can't ask Codatorta if we can join you, alright?" He looked over at Timmy and Riven, the only other specialists who were present at the moment. Hopefully not just the three of us. I wouldn't be surprised if Sky and Helia end up tagging along, but I'm still a bit worried… He thought, and Stella tried to grab his attention, but he seemed to be focused on whatever it was he was thinking about.

Stella returned to the others after a while. "Well, I think we should probably leave a bit sooner… and, let's not bring the guys, okay? We can fly."

Tecna came back from her nonchalant chat with Timmy. "We won't need to," she stated. "Melody is a popular realm, so we should be able to access it from one of the Magix Gates."

She looked at Musa to see if she'd been reading her lips, but her gaze then shifted to Aisha. What's up with her? Tecna wondered to herself, she's barely said anything in these past few days…

Bloom nodded, and she smiled when she saw the other girls. "So, should we get ready to leave yet? I have a feeling that we have less time than we think we do. It's a matter of time," She bit her lip and the others also nodded.

Brandon came back momentarily, and the other specialists were with him – including Sky and Helia. Sky laughed, came forward and exclaimed, "Pack your bags, because it's going to be a long flight!"

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**Hey everyone! So, I know it's been a little bit since the last chapter but there won't be another for a long while, probably. But I'll be working on it over the summer, so there will either be a lot of new chapters or just a really long one :D I know this one's pretty long too so here! Please tell me what you think! :)**


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